‘Review of policies should focus on income disparity’
KUALA LUMPUR: The government should pay close attention to issues involving income disparity, definition of the term poverty and facilitate business financing.
This will enable the New Economic Policy (NEP) and New Economic Model (NEM) to be more relevant in today’s climate.
Dr Ahmed Razman Abdul Latiff, a senior lecturer at Putra Business School (PBS) said the income gap among races, including in a community, was widespread, adding that the gap continued to widen.
He said the gap not only affected the urban community, but also the rural community.
“Many indicators show an unhealthy or disproportionate pattern, for example, not many contributors of Employees Provident Fund (EPF), Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) and Tabung Haji (TH) have sufficient savings in their old age.
“In addition, the definition of ‘poor’ also needs to be reviewed, using the definition of ‘relative poor’ rather than ‘hardcore poor’.
“This is important as government policies are formulated based on how many people are classified as ‘hardcore poor’.
“Any financial crisis that is being faced today should also be addressed in the new policy by introducing new alternative solutions, such as national banking, priority to equity financing for SMEs (small- and medium-sized enterprises) and to promote qardhul hasan (interest-free loans) to the people in need,” he told the New Straits Times Press.
The Timber Traders and Bumiputera Furniture Association, meanwhile, hoped that the implementation mechanism of NEP and MEB would empower and benefit those in need.
Its president, Hanafee Yusoff, said NEP and NEM had good foundations, but the problem was in their implementation.
This, he claimed, could be seen when the people in need were not getting the benefits, adding that both economic initiatives were not effective and unfair.
“It should return to the days of former prime minister Tun Abdul Razak (Hussein), who emphasised the need for careful planning, management and monitoring of a developing economy.
MIC said it backed the review of NEP and NEM, but added that the review should benefit all Malaysians.
The party’s Youth chief Datuk C. Sivarraajh said the government should ensure that all races have the same benefits.
He said the “new” NEP and NEM should ensure a balanced development and equitable distribution to all Malaysians.
“In reviewing the policy, the government should take into account the state of the races and the best possible approach.
“This approach should be taken to reduce the poverty gap and the development of a balanced standard of living, so that Malaysians from all walks can enjoy the nation’s prosperity fairly.”
He said the previous NEP had resulted in unfair policies and created income gaps, straying from the original intent of the policy.
He said as such, the review of the policies should adopt a holistic approach.
The Cameron Highlands member of parliament said he hoped that the new policy would be more inclusive and open.